Naperville, IL --
First impressions? Justin Licht knows all about them. Licht is 5-foot-8,
130 pounds and more than once other water polo coaches shook their heads
at the diminutive goalie and said "but."

"I always
heard, 'He's good but ... ' There's always a 'Yeah, but' to it," Licht
told me a couple weeks ago after he recorded his his fourth victory in
five games since the season began on March 8. "I heard it all the way
through. I'd start for JV and then made varsity and it would be, 'Yeah,
but that's about as far as he'll go. He's good, but he's still too small.'
"

His first
impression on the Huskies?

"You could
say it was a little guy making a big impression," laughed
Naperville North hole set Jon Rapchak.

"A really
big impression," said two meter defender Andrew Fitch.

"Yeah, I've
heard all the small jokes," Licht laughed. Beginning when he
was cut from the basketball team in his hometown of Lombard.

"I was 13
and I was devastated when the coach told me, 'It doesn't matter how well
you shoot -- you're too small,' " Licht recalled.

At 17,
Licht recorded 260 saves and allowed only 94 goals over the course of the
2003 season. Not enough proof of his ability? His team had a record
of 25-3, won two close games en route to the sectional championship game,
and then defeated rival Naperville Central 14-8 to advance to the state
tournament.

Licht
didn't start until his junior season -- and even then it wasn't a
certainty that he would last an entire season in goal. But Licht has made
a career out of proving that size doesn't matter.

"When
you're playing in goal, you take things more personally," he said. "You
can sometimes see what people's impressions are of you when you go to play
a team and the first thing they notice is your size."

Well
spoken? You bet. And Licht is also one of those players who looks you
square in the eyes when he talks to you, showing off the confidence he has
in his abilities. Call it poise. Call it confidence. Call it experience.
Whatever combination of intangibles Justin Licht brought to Naperville
North, the Huskies think it's been contagious.

"Everyone
talks about how a goalie can be a perfect fit for their team," Fitch says.
"Well, for us, this really is."

Even with
whispers that he was one of the better returning goalies this year, Licht
says he was caught off guard by the news of his selection to our preseason
all-state team.

"Someone sent me an instant message to tell me I was mentioned on this (www.illpolo.com)
web site," said Licht. "I know we had a great season last year, but I
wasn't expecting to be compared to some of best players in Illinois."

Aside from water polo, Licht
enjoys watching movies like Super Troopers and Office Space and shows like
The Sopranos and The Dave Chappelle Show. He also listens to music like
Linkin Park and Kanye West.

It's clear
that some people get caught up in talking about how players continue to
get bigger and faster and become shortsighted when evaluating prospects
less than 6-feet tall. Such is the case with Licht, who will play next
year at the University of George Washington.

"Confidence
is the biggest thing in being a goalie," says Licht. "When you don't have
it, you play scared. If you go out there afraid to make a mistake, you're
useless. For me, my attitude, my confidence, whatever you want to call it,
it's who I am."

First
impressions of Justin Licht? Those in this big-man's game who believe
there's no place for someone under 6-feet, you've just been taught
another little lesson in reality by Licht's state tournament appearance in
2003 and his team's 18-4 record so far this season.